1. Tribal Leadership:
From “I” to “We”
Si Alhir
salhir@gmail.com
http://salhir.wordpress.com
202-596-8202
Tribal Leadership
1 Copyright (c) 2010 Sinan Si Alhir. All rights reserved.

2. Tribes, Tribal Leaders, and
the Zone of Tribal Leadership
~ Tribes and Culture
~ Tribes naturally move one cultural stage at a time on a
scale of one-to-five
~ Culture emerges from language (theme), behavior (mood),
and relationship structures
~ Tribal Leaders and Tribal Leadership
~ Tribal leaders upgrade tribes through cultural stages using
leverage points
~ Tribal leadership involves nudging language and fostering
relationships
Tribal Leadership
2 Copyright (c) 2010 Sinan Si Alhir. All rights reserved.

3. Stage 3: “I’m Great”
~ Personal Domination
~ Dyadic (two-person) relationships (hub with spokes) involving
one-on-one conversations
~ Hoard information (where knowledge is power)
~ Try to keep “spokes” from forming relationships
~ Rely on gossip and spies for information
~ Use military or mafia language
~ Hunger for tips/tools/techniques/practices (efficient)
~ Focus and talk about their individual values
~ Point of Diminishing Returns
~ Complain: Don’t have enough time and don’t get enough support
~ Complain: Surrounded by less able and less dedicated people
~ Harder they work, less effective they are, and less their efforts
seem to matter
Tribal Leadership
3 Copyright (c) 2010 Sinan Si Alhir. All rights reserved.

4. The Epiphany: “I Am Because We Are”
~ Journey from stage three to stage four
~ Awaken to reflect intellectually & emotionally on core
assumptions
~ Become aware of deeper insights from which there is no turning
back
~ First Reflection: “What have I achieved?”
~ Realization: Their achievements are more personal than tribal
~ Realization: Their not making the impact they thought they were
~ Second Reflection: “How can I fix this?”
~ Begin preaching “we” system (stage 4) within stage 3
~ Using “vision”, “partnership”, and “collaboration”
~ Realization: Stage 3 cannot be fixed and must be abandoned
Tribal Leadership
4 Copyright (c) 2010 Sinan Si Alhir. All rights reserved.

5. The Epiphany: “I Am Because We Are”
~ Third Reflection: “What’s the real goal?”
~ Realization: Ego hit of accomplishment (stage 3) isn’t the same as
success
~ Realization: Real goal is having an impact on people and
betterment of the tribe
~ Realization: “I Am Because We Are”
~ Shifts from “I” and dyadic relationships to “we” and networked
systems of people
~ Focus on the tribe
~ In service of the institution
Tribal Leadership
5 Copyright (c) 2010 Sinan Si Alhir. All rights reserved.

6. Stage 4: “We’re Great”
~ Tribal Leaders
~ Finding and leveraging commitment to shared core values
~ Aligning on a noble cause
~ Establishing triadic relationships
~ Building a history-making strategy
Cause
values
Tribal Leadership
6 Copyright (c) 2010 Sinan Si Alhir. All rights reserved.

7. Core Values and Noble Cause
~ Core Values
~ Fuels a tribe
~ What a tribe “stands in”
~ Timeless
~ A tribe identifies and leverages its core values
~ A tribe lives its core values through its practices
~ A tribal leader follows the core values of the tribe no matter what
the cost
~ Noble Cause
~ The direction of where a tribe is headed
~ What a tribe “shoots for”
~ Far-reaching (represents a tribe’s yearnings and aspirations)
~ A tribe aligns on a noble cause
~ Establishes tribal identity and makes leadership possible
~ What a tribe is in “service of”
Tribal Leadership
7 Copyright (c) 2010 Sinan Si Alhir. All rights reserved.

8. Triads and Triading
~ Triads
~ Three-legged relationships
~ Link people together as well as tribes
~ Offer stability, the context for innovation, and scalability
~ Each leg of the structure is responsible for the quality of the
relationship between the other two parts
~ Triading
~ Fostering a relationship between two people based on core values
and mutual self-interest
~ Results in loyalty and followership
~ Know values and current projects of people in network
~ Credibility with both people (they are triading with)
~ Great or world-class at something
~ Has experienced the epiphany
~ Effective triading requires “authenticity”!
Tribal Leadership
8 Copyright (c) 2010 Sinan Si Alhir. All rights reserved.

9. Thank You
Si Alhir
salhir@gmail.com
http://salhir.wordpress.com
202-596-8202
Tribal Leadership
9 Copyright (c) 2010 Sinan Si Alhir. All rights reserved.

10. Tribal Leadership:
Leveraging Natural Groups to
Build a Thriving Organization
http://www.culturesync.net
Ten-year, 24,000 person, organizational research study
Dave Logan, John King, and Halee Fischer-Wright
Tribal Leadership
10 Copyright (c) 2010 Sinan Si Alhir. All rights reserved.